Nina's Journey
by skycloud86
Summary: AU Nina/Jack story set over the course of the first three seasons.


_**A/N – This is an AU story set over the first three seasons. It involves some of the characters, but CTU doesn't exist in this story and the building and company that the characters work for is unidentified.**_

**11.00pm, Tuesday, March 5th, 2002 – Los Angeles**

Nina Myers was anxious, and as she stole quick glances at her cell phone, all she could think of was the plan failing. Rubbing the latest bruise on her arm, carefully hidden below her sleeve – Jack always knew never to hit her where it could be seen – she hoped that tonight would be the last night she would ever have to spend with Jack Bauer. They, meaning most of the staff in the company, had to work late into the night in order to complete a massive project that would reap massive profits both nationally and internationally. Grabbing her phone, she quietly walked into one of the long and dark corridors of the gloomy building she worked in, and dialled Andre's number. Andre, a Serbian who had immigrated to America soon after the wars in the Balkans had broken out, was one of her closest friends as well as one of the most important parts of her plan.

"Andre, it's Nina. Is everything set up ready?," Nina asked, in near perfect Serbian, a language she had learnt after meeting Andre and one she was finding useful in order to disguise any conversations she had regarding the plan.

"Yes, everything should go fine, Nina. I'll be calling Jack very soon," Andre replied, as he looked over the dark waters for any sign of the boat that would take him and Nina as far away from Los Angeles as possible. Thanking him, Nina hung up, before turning to walk back to her desk, only to see a curious Tony standing there.

"Everything OK, Nina?," Tony asked, studying her face. He knew that Nina was often very secretive, which was no surprise as he was sure that Jack was hiding something himself which badly affected her, and he could only stand helplessly on the sidelines until he had some evidence of what was actually going on.

"Yes, everything is fine, Tony. Why do you ask?," Nina replied, trying to appear and sound as calm and casual as she could. A natural actress, Nina relied heavily on such skills to keep her abuse secret, and luckily for her it seemed to have worked on Tony. Nodding, he was about to leave her alone, but decided to ask one more question.

"So, what language was that?," Tony asked, and Nina hoped that he only heard a small part of her Serbian dialogue. Deciding it would be useless to lie about the language, she decided she could only tell the truth as much as possible.

"Serbian, Tony. I was talking to Andre," Nina spoke, knowing that Tony was very much aware of who Andre was, and the answer appeared to have satisfied him. As he walked away from Nina, she sighed silently, and told herself that a whole new life was ahead of her, and all she had to do was get out of the building, drive to the docks and meet Andre at the meeting point. She had no idea where they were going to go, but she couldn't care less as long as it wasn't where Jack was.

In his office, Jack Bauer was busy sorting out a mountain of paperwork. Grabbing angrily at the phone as it rang, he placed it to his ear and waited for the person to speak, not bothering with formalities.

"Jack? It's Andre Drazen. I think you need to come down to the docks," Andre spoke, and Jack just scoffed. Why would he go there late at night when he had work to do. He was about to hang up, when Andre decided to punctuate the silence with a statement that would surely catch Jack's attention.

"Jack, it's about Kim. There's a body they found floating in the water, and they think it's Kim. The police wanted to contact you, but I thought it would be better if you heard it from someone you knew," Andre continued, and he knew that the plan was now irreversible and had to succeed. Meanwhile, Jack was looking at his computer screen, unable to comprehend what he had just been told. Minutes later, he replied to Andre.

"I'm coming."

**11.10pm, Port of Los Angeles**

As Andre put down his cell phone, he checked his watch and smiled. He hoped that the lack of any actual police officers or vehicles would not make Jack realise that it was all a trick, and he leant against his car. Although the plan was to escape from the very place that Andre had convinced Jack to go to, the plan was for Nina to be out of the building before Jack could return, and to follow a different route to the port in order to avoid passing Jack on her way.

**11.15pm, Nina and Jack's workplace**

As Jack walked quickly past, Nina tried not to look at him in case he noticed. The last thing she wanted was to be dragged along to the port with Jack, or for him to waste time talking to her, and as he disappeared around the corner, a small smile grew on her face. The plan was working out, and soon she would be far away from Jack, a man she had once loved but had now grown to hate. Noticing her boss, George Mason, walking towards her desk, she tried to make herself look busy.

"Nina, where is Jack going? He's got a ton of work that needs doing!," George asked. Although he considered Jack to be one of his best employees, the man had a reputation for , not to mention the occasional outburst at anyone who dared piss him off - Nina flinched every time she heard his raised voice, even when it wasn't being directed at her, and she hoped that no one noticed.

"I have no idea, George, and if I did I would tell you," Nina replied, keeping her eyes on George. Although she knew George was interested in her, she wasn't interested in him and had always wondered if Jack or anyone else could tell. Sighing, George walked away, probably to go and call Jack on his cell, and Nina looked at the time – Jack would be at the port any time now.

**11.20pm, Port of Los Angeles**

As Jack got out of his car, he quickly noticed the lack of police officers and as soon as he saw Andre, walked quickly towards him.

"Andre! I thought you said the police were here?," Jack shouted. At the moment, he had no other thought other than the welfare of his daughter, but Andre knew that he was going to grow suspicious very quickly.

"I said the police were going to contact you, Jack, not that they were here," Andre replied, but Jack looked even angrier.

"Don't mess me around, Andre! Why would the police just leave if there was a body in the water?," Jack asked, and Andre could only shrug. Muttering under his breath, Jack took out his cell and called Kim's number. When she answered, Jack went ballistic and punched Andre hard. Making up a quick excuse to his daughter before hanging up, Jack marched back to his car, when Andre shouted after him.

"Jack, wait a minute and I will explain!," Andre yelled, but it was too late for Jack, who pulled out something from inside the car. Andre watched as Jack walked up to him and he noticed the gun too late to defend himself, and as Jack shot him in the stomach, he groaned loudly. Leaving the injured man on the ground, Jack jogged back to his car, and drove off. He knew that the port had no cameras, and that no one probably even heard the gunshot, never mind saw the attack. As Jack's car disappeared from his sight, Andre groaned as he reached for his cell. Dialling Nina's number, he hoped that she would get out in time.

**11.25pm, Nina and Jack's workplace**

Nina was panicking, even though she was fairly sure that Jack knew nothing of the plan. She was running through the deserted corridors, rushing past colleagues and almost slipping a few times as she tried her best to get to the underground garage before Jack could get back. Slamming open the door, she raced to her silver BMW, before peeling off and heading for the exit, only to see a black SUV pull into the garage.

Jack, noticing Nina speeding towards him, wondered where she was going and he suddenly put the pieces together. He had been paranoid of Nina leaving him for some time, and now he knew that she was having an affair with Andre Drazen. Not that it mattered much anymore, as Jack was fairly sure that Andre was dead, and that Nina would soon follow. As the two cars came ever closer, Nina was sure that Jack was about to crash into her, and at the last minute her strong attachment to life made her swerve, only to crash into a parked car. Groaning as she lifted her head up from the steering wheel, a bleeding cut on her forehead, she was surprised by Jack, who pulled her out of the car and grabbed her throat before pushing his gun into her head – Nina could tell that the gun was warm and therefore had been recently shot, a fact that horrified her. She knew that Jack kept a gun in his car, but she was sure that he wouldn't kill in cold blood.

"Where were you going to go, Nina? With that Serbian son of a bitch?!," Jack yelled at Nina, determined to prove his paranoid theories correct. Nina stared at him defiantly, hoping that someone would come and save her.

"If you kill me, you'll go to jail for the rest of your life, Jack, just like you will for killing Andre!," Nina replied back, her voice strained but still loud. Jack squeezed her neck a little bit harder, and Nina was beginning to lose both sight and conciousness.

"I thought you loved me, Nina!," Jack spoke, his voice almost breaking and his eyes beginning to water. His hand became looser, and Nina took her chance. With one fast movement, she forced her knee hard into Jack's groin, sending him crashing to the floor in pain, and Nina looked around for a way out. Her own car was too damaged to drive, but Jack's car was unscathed. Climbing into the driver's seat, she reversed and turned, never looking back.

Groaning, Jack turned around to see his car speeding out of the garage. Reaching for his gun, he was about to pick it up when a foot clamped down on it. Looking up, he noticed Tony Almeida.

"I saw the whole thing, Jack, and the police are on their way," Tony announced, and Jack suddenly grew angry once more. He was about to stand up, before Tony knocked him back down to the floor.

"How about you just stay down there, Jack? I knew there was something wrong about your relationship, and to be honest, I'm disgusted. I mean, I know you have flaws like everyone else, but attacking the woman you claim to love? You're disgusting, Jack," Tony continued, before noticing a couple of police officers accompanied by George.

"The police are also on their way to the port, Jack, so you better hope that Nina was wrong about Andre Drazen being dead," Tony told him, before walking away.

**11.50pm, Port of Los Angeles**

As Nina pulled into the port, she noticed the fleet of police cars and her heart sank. Getting quickly out of the car, she made her way to the front of the police cordon, and saw Andre being attended to by paramedics. Quickly diving under the cordon, she ran over to him, with tears in her eyes. Kneeling down next to him, she grabbed hold of his cold hand.

"Andre, are you OK?," Nina asked, trying not to cry. She could tell that the injury was serious. Andre looked at her, his vision blurry but his mind quite clear.

"I will be, Nina. Where's Jack?," Andre replied, but Nina shook her head. They didn't need to mention Jack, or think of him, and Nina could only think of the future.

"The police have him, Andre. What's important to you and me is our future, not him," Nina replied, but something about his wound caught her eye. Although most of the blood was light red, there was a worrying flow of deeper crimson blood.

"He's bleeding from an artery! You have to save him!," Nina shouted, pointing at the wound whilst squeezing Andre's hand as tightly as she could. Andre, who was now fading in and out of conciousness, shook his head slightly.

"No, Nina, it's too late, I'm going to die but, please, don't let this be the end for you. Live on for me and for you, OK?," Andre spoke, his voice quiet and hoarse. Nina, who was now openly crying, shook her head as well, but as the blood flow slowed down, she knew that he had little time left and, as he closed his eyes for the last time, she kissed his forehead gently.

"I'm so sorry, Andre," Nina whispered.


End file.
